WAITING PATIENTLY

Author: Unknown

There was a man who had four sons.
He wanted them to learn not to judge things too quickly.
So he sent them on a quest, one by one, to look at a pear tree.
The first son went in winter, the second in the spring, the third in the summer,
and the youngest on in the fall.

When they had all gone and returned, he called them together to describe what
they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted.

The second son said it was covered with buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so
sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever
seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with
fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained that they were all right, because they had each seen
only one season in the tree’s life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season.
That the essence of who they are, and the pleasure, joy and love that come
from that life, can only be measured at the end when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring,
the beauty of your summer, and the fulfillment of your fall.
Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don’t judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches, and better times are sure to come.